Don Sorensen, Online Reputation Management Expert Addresses New Findings Showing Poor Reputation Management Cause for Loss of Business
Salt Lake City, Utah (PRWEB) July 18, 2013 -- Don Sorensen, online reputation expert and president of Big Blue Robot LLC, today commented on findings from a new 2013 Makovsky Wall Street Reputation Study showing that nearly half of financial services companies have lost business due to reputation issues in the last 12 months. The annual survey is designed to determine the state of reputation of the financial industry and identify best practices and emerging trends.
“With the national economy taking its time to recover and plenty of recent financial scandals, Wall Street’s reputation has taken quite a beating,” says Sorensen, online reputation management expert and author of “Online Reputation Management: Corporate & Personal. “If Wall Street, banks, and other financial institutions want to rebuild a solid reputation, they’ll need to focus on the distinct perceptions consumers have about them.”
The 2013 Makovsky survey states that nearly half—44%—of financial services companies lost 5% or more business in the past 12 months due to ongoing reputation and customer satisfaction issues, showing losses based on total sales of these companies estimated at hundreds of millions. The study further states that the majority, 60% of marketing and communication executives in the financial-services industry see another five years before the industry regains the reputation held prior to the financial crisis.
“These numbers are staggering, but not surprising in today’s social media business climate,” added Sorensen. “Companies need to take notice of how valuable their online reputation and online perception is to those looking to do business with their company or use their products. A proactive approach to online reputation management is much easier to control than reacting to negative situations online. However, all can be successfully managed by following some guidelines.”
The reputation expert suggests that by addressing certain key areas, Wall Street bankers, financial institutions and stockbrokers can tackle the problem of a poor reputation from several angles to address and rebuild their reputation. These include citizenship, financial performance, governance, innovation, leadership, products and services and workplace environment.
Citizenship
“Consumers expect companies they do business with and those who hold a lot of power to show good corporate citizenship and social responsibility,” says Sorensen. “Wall Street has lost its sense of citizenship and needs to recapture it.” Citizenship in this sense is the idea that businesses like those on Wall Street must be actively compliant with the law, monitor and be accountable for their own actions, and have a positive impact on the environment, employees, customers, stakeholders, and the public at large.
Financial Performance
No one wants to buy from, work for, or invest in a company that isn’t financially stable and making a steady profit. Scandals, embezzlement, debt, gambling, poor investments, sour mergers or acquisitions, and other cash-flow problems all reflect a negative financial performance. “Wall Street needs to show positive financial performance wherever and whenever possible,” adds Sorensen. “It’s going to take some time, but they need positive, current examples to get back on track.”
Governance
Sorensen believes that how a company is run can have a big impact on the company’s reputation. Consumers expect a company to be run efficiently, fairly, and responsibly, with strong values and appropriate policies.
“Implementing a better procedure to punish employees involved in scandals and rewards those who live up to the company’s values and mission would go a long way to rebuilding Wall Street’s reputation,” advises Sorensen. “So would making processes more efficient, policies more fair, and values and mission statements more in line with the other 6 factors.”
Innovation
Sorenson points out that most successful companies--which, coincidentally, usually have good reputations--evolve and adapt. “They are not afraid to update old products and policies, create new ones to match the times, and otherwise innovate in any way they can to perform better and please stakeholders, says Sorensen. “Wall Street has stagnated by doing the same things the same way for years. It’s time for them to get creative and change how they play the game to regain trust and rebuild a strong reputation. It’s time to get innovative and set a new course for the future.”
Leadership
Thanks to the internet consumers expect companies to have visible leaders who are experts in their industries and take a stand on important issues of the day. “Wall Street executives should strive to be an influence for good and become thought leaders in smart investing, ethical banking and financial policies, and other relevant topics,” added Sorensen. “Unfortunately as of late, this hasn’t been the case for Wall Street. It’s time for Wall Street executives to demonstrate good leadership.”
Products & Services
Businesses live or die by the strength and value of their offerings. Sorensen recommends Wall Street institutions make sure their products and services actually help customers, solve problems, and are appropriately priced.
Workplace Environment
Finally, Sorensen advises on workplace environment. “Although this factor mainly affects employees, it makes a difference in a business’s reputation,” concludes Sorensen. “Consumers expect businesses they frequent to treat their employees well, and an employee’s assessment of the company is more powerful than a random customer Rebuilding Wall Street’s reputation will take a lot of work, but these 7 key factors provide the much-needed guidance to get them on the right track.”
Sorensen’s 7 Key Factors for Wall Street can be viewed in full at http://www.bigbluerobot.com
Sorensen also has videos outlining ways to improve personal or corporate reputations online. These can be viewed at http://www.bigbluerobot.com/videos or on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQPkJGNfGGc
About Don Sorensen
Don Sorensen is a recognized authority on online reputation management whose expertise and insights have been featured in the New York Times, Forbes, CIO and other publications. His more than 25 years of corporate communications and marketing experience are the foundation upon which he built Big Blue Robot, a leader in the online reputation management industry. A frequent presenter on online reputation management, his speaking engagements include the upcoming Financial Times, The Future of Marketing Summit and appearances at the Direct Selling Association.
About Big Blue Robot
Founded in 2003, Big Blue Robot works with corporations and their executives around the world to improve, protect, repair and manage their online reputations. Big Blue Robot has developed state-of-the-art online reputation management strategies for companies doing business around the world, including USA, Germany, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, and France. During the past ten years, Big Blue Robot has helped numerous companies fix their brand reputation and online reputation problems.
Press Contact:
Paulette Brown, Brown Communications Inc. 770-577-3881, paulette(at)browncommunicationspr(dot)com
Don Sorensen, Big Blue Robot, http://www.bigbluerobot.com, 801-592-3396, [email protected]
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